Zhongshan Shenzhu Chi

In the quiet of the night, the moon rises over the flowing river.

Its massive, crimson body meandered gently underwater, its movements so subtle that it did not disturb any sleeping creatures.

Upon returning to the mountain and water cave, the giant snake, as always, sank its body into the river, leaving only its head protruding from the bank, like a quietly standing red reef.

Its gaze lowered, not in a state of slumber, but in a state of deep thought.

The mother specifically instructed the big bluefish to protect a talking frog from Yunxi Continent.

The mother appeared in a dream to the people in the city, asking them to go up the mountain to worship the mountain god, where they happened to meet her.

And... it will soon be assimilated into Zhongshan.

Over the past few months, the things his mother had done flashed through the snake's mind, one by one.

Huai Nian wanted to find the connection between these events, but they only had one thing in common.

That is, one learns about something through the actions and words of other living beings.

"Are these things related to the drought?" Huai Nian murmured to herself.

The stench of the dragon's blood seemed to linger in his nostrils. The giant serpent pondered without finding a solution, then tried a different approach.

Everything my mother did was done in Yongningzhou and even in Zhongshan.

The only difference was the frog.

It comes from Yunxi Continent.

"The fox seemed to have said that Yunxi Continent is similar to the water towns of Jiangnan, and almost all the rivers in this world that flow into the sea pass through there."

"A dense network of waterways crisscrosses the area, teeming with fish and shrimp..."

Thinking of this, the giant snake shook its head.

If the mother was protecting a dragon-type monster, and the one chasing the frog was the one who came to kill her, then everything makes sense.

She wanted to use the moisture from Yunxi Island to alleviate the severe drought in Yongning Island caused by the double sun in the sky.

But it just happens to be a frog.

What can a frog do?

Unable to figure it out, the giant snake simply stopped thinking about it.

It gently swayed its tail, turned its head, and submerged into the water, opening its serpentine snout to swallow a large mouthful of water. The moonlight and the water's essence, along with the clear, cool water, were swallowed by the giant snake.

Then, the enormous snake body slowly sank down and landed on the mud.

The Luo River flowed over its body, isolating it from all external sounds. The giant serpent calmed its mind and slowly rotated the yin-yang vortex.

At this moment, all thoughts about frogs, Yunxi Continent, and the future were suppressed.

With a calm mind, all causes and effects dissipated, leaving only time flowing by like water.

When stillness reaches its extreme, the mind begins to stir.

The giant snake at the bottom of the water suddenly awoke and surfaced.

The sky was clear and the sun was shining brightly overhead.

9:00 AM (巳时).

The giant snake flicked its tongue, sensing the direction of the spiritual energy spreading in all directions, and made a judgment in its mind.

Without an alarm clock, I slept until I naturally woke up around 10 a.m.... It can be considered as fulfilling some insignificant obsessions from my past life.

The red snake slowly swam its body, resting its head on the shore, patiently waiting for the right moment.

A warm and gentle spring breeze swept by, bringing the rich fragrance of May to the mountains where hundreds of flowers bloomed in competition.

Bathed in the warm, fragrant breeze, the red snake slowly lowered its wide-open mouth, its muscles relaxing and no longer tense.

"Croak!"

Suddenly, a loud croaking frog, with a deep echo, like the distant mooing of cows, broke the tranquil spring atmosphere that had lulled snakes to sleep on the banks of the Luo River.

The giant snake suddenly raised its head.

A green frog hopped right in front of me. Its leaps kicked up water droplets, its agile form brimming with life.

"Croak!" The frog puffed out its vocal sac and let out a clear croak.

Huai Nian's sleepiness was completely shattered by it. She raised her head and carefully examined the unknown frog from Yunxi Continent.

Three black, claw-like marks ran through his eyes and nostrils, traversing his entire body.

Its size is roughly the size of an adult's palm... nothing particularly special.

The snake and the frog stared at each other, remaining silent for a long time.

Shifting its perspective, the giant snake wanted to see if the frog possessed any extraordinary abilities, but its view was obstructed by a massive cloud of water, similar to the one that had enveloped the alligator dragon.

"Are you a dragon?" the snake and the frog asked at the same time.

"I'm not one of those nasty worms," ​​the frog said in a human voice, its face visibly showing disgust. "And you? A descendant of the snake god, why are you a dragon?"

"Am I?" the giant snake asked in confusion.

"Why not? I think you're about to grow horns." The frog raised its front paw and pointed at the red snake's forehead.

"Why is it that if a snake grows horns, it's considered a dragon? Who decided that?" the giant snake replied, then turned around to see its reflection in the water.

From between the eyes to the forehead, those two bony protrusions do indeed look like they're about to grow horns.

But his mother was a serpent goddess, and he knew he had no father.

I must be a snake, and have nothing to do with a dragon.

If we really have to pinpoint a connection... is it because they look alike?

"Fine, it doesn't matter whether it's a dragon or not in the end." The frog hopped over and stopped in front of the giant snake, its tone impatient. "The big fish said you were looking for me. Is something wrong?"

"What happened in Yunxi Continent, or rather, what happened to your clan? Why did you come to Zhongshan seeking the protection of the Serpent God?" The giant serpent didn't mince words and asked directly.

"I don't know," the frog shook its head.

"My mother knocked me unconscious, and when I woke up, I was in the valley where your Zhongshan Snake God resides..."

She said that only when I break free of my shackles and become a great demon can I know what happened in Yunxi Continent and leave Zhongshan.

"What was the state of the serpent goddess when you saw her?" the giant serpent suddenly asked.

"Huh? It's all rocks, and only one eye can move." The frog tilted its head.

In other words, the frog incident also happened after the Awakening of Insects this year...

The giant snake's eyes gleamed.

It suddenly remembered that ancient book.

Everything began to unfold after the villagers of the new village at the foot of the mountain offered tribute and he obtained the ancient book.

My train of thought is blocked again.

Ancient books do indeed possess a spirit, but...

"Quack."

"I have a way to find out if you're a dragon right away," the frog suddenly spoke, its croak bringing the giant snake back to its senses.

"Oh? I'd like to hear more," it replied with interest.

"Give me a taste, and I'll know if you're a dragon." The frog stuck out its tongue, which was long, thin, and pink, completely unlike the description given by the big blue fish, which resembled a human sword.

"Is one time enough?" The giant snake lifted its tail out of the Luo River and placed it in front of the frog.

While there is no direct correlation between the size and strength of a monster, generally speaking, the larger the monster, the stronger it is.

Quality is secondary; the main thing is that the larger the monster, the more spiritual energy of heaven and earth it can absorb and contain.

"It will hurt a little, just bear with it."

"How painful can it be..."

"!!!"

The frog flicked out its tongue, shooting out like an arrow. Even with the Red Serpent's current eyesight, it could only see a faint pink trail.

The arrow struck the snake's scales without leaving a single scratch.

But the next instant, a sharp pain burst forth without warning, like a needle piercing directly into the snake's heart.

The pain is second only to the Great Sun Body Refinement!

The red snake stiffened, its scales bristling and rising to the surface. It let out a muffled groan and smoothed its scales back.

"It doesn't hurt!"

"It seems you're indeed not a dragon..."

"Normally, if a dragon is hit by my tongue without warning, it will be injured, even if it has broken all its shackles."

The frog hopped to the snake's tail and examined it carefully, finding no injuries whatsoever.

He let out a long sigh and turned to look at the giant snake.

"My mother let me choose my own name, so I named myself 'Hunxie Qinggua' (混邪青呱)..."

"Hey? Why are the scales on your neck sticking up?"